Vatican says private ‘audience’ in D.C. was with gay ex-student, not Kim Davis

week after Pope Francis met Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk jailed for her refusal to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples, the Vatican on Friday suggested that she exploited the meeting to promote her views, denied that the pope fully supports her and cast doubt on her account of the encounter.

The Vatican later noted that Francis did have a private “audience” in Washington with a former student of the pope, Yayo Grassi, an openly gay Argentine who along with his longtime partner and some friends met with Francis.

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said in a statement that Grassi, “who had already met other times in the past with the pope, asked to present several friends to the pope during the pope’s stay in Washington, D.C.”

A video posted online shows Grassi embracing the pope and introducing him to his partner, as well as an Argentine woman and some Asian friends.

The statements together seemed intended to distance the pope from Davis.

I think that should put a stop to this Kim Davis bullshit. Back into obscurity with you, idiots.

In a formal statement, the Vatican said Friday that Pope Francis’s meeting with Kentucky clerk Kim Davis “should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects.”

The statement, issued by the Rev. Federico Lombardi, Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, said it was not a “real audience,” suggesting that she was among a group that gathered to greet him and send him off.

I said it was a PR ploy by Liberty Counsel, a pathetic attempt to find some influential cultural figure to endorse their position. And even that was a fail. And the entire U.S. media got pwned. Again.

Well, at least it wasn’t WMDs this time.

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Since we have to keep talking about Kim Davis because she will not go away, people! let me explain to my liberal friends why I’m not concerned at all that she met with Pope Francis last week.

When I first heard this story I immediately thought it was a hoax. Then I thought it was just sad. To see Davis and Liberty Counsel shamelessly milk this event for all it’s worth reminded me of when the National Review released its lists of the top 25 conservative movies and songs. The poor dears! So desperate for some kind of cultural relevance! Pope Francis is a transformative cultural figure, and his U.S. visit was historic. It inspired people of all faiths from coast to coast. Of course this group would try to latch on to that, just like a flea tries to jump on a big dog. Gotta grab a little of this reflected admiration (and media attention), after all!

It’s a pathetic thing to watch. Liberty Counsel’s adolescent “see, I told you so!” moment falls apart when you remember that Pope Francis said nothing about gay marriage while visiting the U.S. But he did talk a lot about climate change, Christians’ responsibility to care for the earth, ending the death penalty, welcoming immigrants, and empowering the poor. So yeah, I’ll believe Liberty Counsel and U.S. fundiegelicals give a crap about Pope Francis when they take up those issues.

*crickets*

I mean, seriously. Remember when conservatives were all like “shut up, Pope Francis!” And now they’re all like, “we love Pope Francis!” Puh-leeze.This whole bit of political theater has evolved in a completely predictable manner. And it will be forgotten tomorrow as we move on to the next shiny-sparkly thing.

14 responses to “Kim Davis Again? Ugh”

The meeting was snuck in by he Rightwing Papal Nuncio,( Vatican ambassadors to the US, appointees of Pope benedict who is also a rightwad. ) Iheard these people would be taken out soon, just as Pope Francis had demoted the former bishop of Lousiana who threatened to excommunicate then presidential John Kerry .He had also urged priests not to give Kerry holy communion. That man is evil. I heard this on Chris Hayes’ show on MSNBC.

Me too, Renx! I am still connected to MSNBC, because they are still keeping a FEW progressive, liberal commentators, TRUTH tellers on the air, at least for now. Oh, they got rid of Ed Schultz, THE advocate for American workers Union or not, who was passionate about environmental issues, and they moved Rev. Al to Sundays at 8am (thinking no one would watch). And it was a shame and a disgrace for the RWNJ Nuncio to take advantage of the Pope’s open heart and allow him to even be touched by this crook in a dress.
But his speech to Congress did so much good and changed hearts in that arena of hatred that I am going to ignore Davis.

…Mr Pierce was thinking the same way as you when he first confirmed the meeting; now, a couple of days hence, he’s done some cogitating and is now wondering if the cocksuckers that Frankie’s working on blackballing haven’t pulled off a consummate ratfucking:

Pope Francis is not that naïve, but, as always, you have to pay attention to what he actually says. After his meeting, he spoke out for the rights of conscientious objectors — a right we, I assume, would all support.
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The key is, of course, that a conscientious objector must accept whatever replaces the service he objects to — in wartime he may be asked to serve in a non-combatant position — and, more importantly, can not accept pay for service he refuses to do. A CO doesn’t get a general’s, or even a private’s salary for not doing the job. And there is a difference between objecting on one’s own and ‘opting out’ — and deliberately impeding or sabotaging the effort you object to.
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So Kim Davis doesn’t qualify.

This is a perfect and succinct explanation of conscientious objection or civil disobedience. There is a price to be paid, and the individual must be willing to pay it. Those on the right seem to think that the price to be paid is having to hire a ghost writer to write the story of their “persecution” which Regenery Press will publish for them.

That’s funny, I was JUST talking to some friends about this on Facebook. Even during the Vietnam draft, CO’s served — often getting assigned nasty, awful jobs like serving as orderlies in mental hospitals. But they had to serve. If Kim Davis wants to claim herself as a conscientious objector then she should resign her post and fill out the rest of her term in an alternate post. Maybe mopping floors somewhere …

And it then turns out that Davis was slipped into a group of people by one of the reactionary bishops. I had this exact same experience with the mayor of a major American city a few years ago. I was herded into an office with several others, and mayor shook my hand and said, “I want you to know that I support what you’re doing and feel that it provides an invaluable service to our community.” My mouth said, “Thank you, Mr. Mayor,” but my mind said, “You have no idea who I am or what I do, do you?”

Apparently Kim Davis was in the same sort of situation the Duke describes, one of about fifteen people who were invited to shake hands with the Pope. They had been vetted by the Secret Service, but all the Pope was given was the names.
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I should mention that Mat Staver has called the Pope’s spokesman a liar, and claims the Vatican deliberately wanted the meeting, and picked her up at her hotel room, and even told her to change her hairstyle so she wouldn’t be recognized. (I ‘should mention it’ the way I should mention the large, smelly pile of Rottweiler poop on the sidewalk.)
‘However, it turns out that the Pope did have one private meeting with an ex-student of his. To quote the Vatican spokesman, “the only real audience granted by the pope at the nunciature was with one of his former students and his family.”
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The emphasis was because the former student is gay, and his family included his partner — at least according to CNN which didn’t mention if they were, in fact, married — or if they did I missed it.

As for the couple being married, they are both Argentinians, and I don’t think that SSM is legal there, but they have been together for 19 years, and the ex-student says Francis was always aware of his gayness. In fact they had a friendly clash over SSM in the papers there, and while Francis repeated his opposition, he also said ‘homophobia has no place in the Catholic Church.’
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As I keep saying, give him time, he’s got a lot of fights, and just hope — pray, if its your thing — that he HAS a lot of time to keep making the changes.
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And one more thing, the Papal Nuncio who slipped Kimmie into the line seems likely to be given the boot. Apparently once you hit 75, you have to ask the Pope for permission to continue, and the odds on this seem pretty bad.